Putin failing on battlefield therefore he attacks Ukrainian cities - Stoltenberg

The main message that NATO foreign ministers will send following their two-day ministerial in Bucharest will be the one of unity of the Alliance and their readiness to continue and strengthen support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian aggression.

That’s according to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, who delivered short remarks to journalists, speaking alongside U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken ahead of the North Atlantic Council meeting, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We are meeting in Romania and I think that it is very timely and important because Romania is a neighbor to Ukraine, and we see a war raging on there.  A war where President Putin is failing, but he's responding with more brutality, attacking Ukrainian cities, attacking critical infrastructure. And President Putin is now turning winter into a war or a weapon of aggression against the Ukrainian people,” the secretary general said.

Therefore the allies need to support Ukraine, he added, noting his extreme gratitude “for the strong support from the United States: military support, economic support, and everything you do to help the Ukrainians.”

“And I'm absolutely confident that the message from the meeting here today and tomorrow will be that NATO Allies will provide and continue to provide unprecedented support to Ukraine.  We need to stand together because it is in our security interest to ensure that President Putin doesn't win, because that will send the message that authoritarian leaders can get their way by using brutal military force,” Stoltenberg stressed.

In turn, Antony Blinken emphasized NATO’s unity in supporting Ukraine and developing its own defense capabilities.

“NATO is stronger and more united than at any time I can remember and I've been doing this for nearly 30 years. (…) We will be reaffirming our support for Ukraine as we go forward. We will be reaffirming our support and the work that we do doing to strengthen our own Alliance. Work that was critically important at the Madrid Summit and that will now be carrying over to Vilnius next year,” said Blinken.

He also welcomed the participation in the North Atlantic Council meeting of the foreign ministers of Sweden and Finland, the two countries soon to become members of the Alliance.

As reported, on Tuesday, November 29, a two-day meeting of NATO foreign ministers kicks off in Bucharest, where the allies will discuss the most important issues of Euro-Atlantic security. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Dmytro Kuleba, will also meet NATO foreign ministers.